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S9+:The imaging tipping point - I (and the 950) finally give in

Technology, as they say, marches on. In terms of image quality, the Nokia 808 camera was top of the phone imaging tree for a couple of years. The Lumia 1020 was top for another couple, then the Lumia 950 inherited the crown for two years more until eventually just pipped - arguably - by the Apple iPhone X, thanks to its extra telephoto lens. And now the pack has starting to overtake the champion 950, with the mass market Galaxy S9 drawing level and now this, the Galaxy S9+, moving some way ahead.

That the crown has been well and truly lost isn't shameful - for a 2015 phone camera to have still been competitive for as long as the 808 and 1020 were in their day speaks highly of the work done by the ex-Nokians at Microsoft on the 950 camera design. But, eventually, the advances in imaging signal processor design (including combining multiple exposures), in sensor technology, and in integrating multiple cameras with different focal lengths, have all told.

A few weeks ago, I concluded that the Galaxy S9 camera was roughly level with the Lumia 950 range in terms of image quality (and, obviously, quite a bit faster in operation), but with an extra week of the S9+ under my belt and comparison examples below, the evidence is now overwhelming that with the extra telephoto lens (again), and the possibilities for extra zoom and detail, the S9+ is a clear league ahead and, at least until the arrival of the PureView-like Huawei P20 Pro in a few weeks, the top all round imaging smartphone. And, being a Samsung, it's not a niche device, either - the S9 and S9+ are ranged by just about all networks in all countries - these things will sell in the many tens of millions.

But on with my tests and analysis, since you're going to want some proof.

I've said, with regards to phone cameras with extra telephoto lenses, that thay 'draw ahead anyway if you do lots of zooming', i.e. which phone camera wins depends to some extent on what you like to take photos of. This is just as true here, though it's also worth noting that the S9+'s standard (dual aperture) is already arguably level with the Lumia 950 in terms of performance - the telephoto lens just adds an extra dimension to photographic possibilities that takes it into another league.

In short, despite the cleverness of the PureView oversampling and digital zoom arrangement, the Lumia 950 XL is really rather outgunned here - again, it's just the march of progress. It also presented me, in the last week of testing, with the rather new feeling as I roamed around looking for photos to snap, that the more solid, newer S9+ was the one I should reach for by default if I wanted the best photo - and that's distinctly novel.

Some notes:

As usual, I've stayed away from 'sunny' shots in perfect conditions - I want to try and make these phone cameras really work, so I'm deliberately trying to make things hard. This shows up differences in output much more clearly.

The Galaxy S9+'s shots are at 9MP shooting at 16:9. I'm using the 950 XL in its reduced/oversampled 8MP mode (it could rise to 16MP if absolutely needed), because I intend to make life very hard for these phone cameras in terms of lighting, and they'll need all the oversampling/combination processing they can muster to achieve detail and keep noise down. Plus I do use zoom on both phones quite a bit times below.

Zooming is under manual control on the Lumia 950 XL, in that a 2x zoom is always half 'PureView' (smart cropping) and half digital interpolation, while on the Galaxy S9+ it depends on the light levels. Outdoors, in reasonable light, the S9+ uses its telephoto lens - indoors, or in poor light, it keeps the f/1.5 lens and uses digital zoom and interpolation.

All photos were taken handheld on full 'auto' on both phones, unless stated otherwise, and with the phones handheld. Mimicking real life users.

Let's pit the results against each other, using our Famed Interactive Comparator (FIC). All 1:1 crops are at 900x500 for comparison, but see the links for full versions.

Note that the interactive comparator below uses javascript and does need to load each pair of images. Please be patient while this page loads, if you see a pair of images above each other than you've either not waited long enough or your browser isn't capable enough! You ideally need a powerful, large-screened tablet or a proper laptop or desktop. This comparator may not work in some browsers. Sorry about that. On Windows 10 Mobile, use the 'AAWP Universal' UWP app, which handles the comparator very competently (see the tips in the app's help screens).

Test 1: Landscape, zoomed

A gloomy spring day in the UK, but adequate lighting. Here is the whole (unzoomed) scene, of the famous hill at Minehead, as presented by the Lumia 950:

I then zoomed in to 2x on both phone cameras.

In case you want to grab the original (zoomed) images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia 950 XL and Galaxy S9+, click the links to download. And to look at the images in more detail here, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:

Even though the light wasn't fantastic, it was bright enough for the S9+ to use its 2x telephoto lens, with predictably superior results - the S9+ photo, aided by the usual Samsung sharpening and enhancements, is stunningly crisp - remember, the detail above is over a mile away!

The 950 XL does its best, but interpolative zoom was never its strong point and the artefacts show.

Microsoft Lumia 950 XL: 7 pts; Samsung Galaxy S9+: 10 pts

Test 2: Station scene, zoomed

Decent lighting, a nice steam train scene, shot at about 50m (to the train). Here is the whole (unzoomed) scene, as presented by the Lumia 950:

I then zoomed in to 2x on both phone cameras.

In case you want to grab the original (zoomed) images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia 950 XL and Galaxy S9+, click the links to download. And to look at the images in more detail here, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:

As with the hillside scene, the use of the 2x telephoto lens makes for a stunningly crisp shot from the S9+, even at this distance. The 950 XL's shot is full of clumsy digital zoom artefacts and, not for the first time, I wish that Microsoft had programmed in a 'hard stop' at the PureView limit of 1.5x.

Microsoft Lumia 950 XL: 8 pts; Samsung Galaxy S9+: 10 pts

Test 3: HDR test

Bright light through the window, but how much detail and colour can we get on the flowers, in the face of such extremes of lighting? A good HDR test. Here is the scene, as presented by the Lumia 950:

In case you want to grab the original (zoomed) images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia 950 XL and Galaxy S9+, click the links to download. And to look at the images in more detail here, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:

There's no doubt that the S9+, with its multi-exposure camera software, manages more HDR detail than the 'simple' (two or three exposures) HDR mode in the Lumia 950 XL, but I do prefer the more natural, less processed look of the flowers and leaves on the Lumia - it saw what my eyes saw on the day. A score draw overall, I think.

Microsoft Lumia 950 XL: 9 pts; Samsung Galaxy S9+: 9 pts

Test 4: Indoors, zoomed

A slightly gloomily lit but rather handsome grandfather clock, indoors, with loads of face detail - and, in hind sight, some distracting bright light peeking through the curtain to the left. Oh well, more of a challenge! Here is the (unzoomed) scene, as presented by the Lumia 950:

I then zoomed in to 2x on both phone cameras, to try and capture the intricate detail.

In case you want to grab the original (zoomed) images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia 950 XL and Galaxy S9+, click the links to download. And to look at the images in more detail here, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:

Even though the S9+ didn't have enough light to use its 2x telephoto lens (you can verify this by looking in the EXIF data - the aperture is quoted as f/1.5), and so it was relying solely on digital zoom, the sheer amount of extra light from the larger aperture, allied to the multiple exposure system, newer sensor, and better interpolative zoom, mean that the S9+ photo just wins out. The 950 XL is clearly struggling a little, the S9+ clearly has artefact issues of its own, but most people would judge the S9+ crop as bolder and more confident at showing detail.

Microsoft Lumia 950 XL: 7 pts; Samsung Galaxy S9+: 8 pts

Test 5: Low light

A deliberately gloomy, low light shot of a favourite subject - how much can the two phone cameras pick up? Here's the scene as presented by the Lumia 950, and made to look TEN TIMES lighter than it was to my eyes - I can't emphasise this enough, both phone cameras literally turned night into day:

In case you want to grab the original (zoomed) images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia 950 XL and Galaxy S9+, click the links to download. And to look at the images in more detail here, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:

At last the Lumia 950 XL manages a win, if only by a nose, with its superior oversampling system making for a purer, less noisy result. Though the S9+ isn't far behind and, with its beloved sharpening routines, you could argue that it produced more detail - see the lettering on the steam engine tender, for example.

Microsoft Lumia 950 XL: 10 pts; Samsung Galaxy S9+: 9 pts

Test 6: LED flash test

The same test scene in very low light, but this time allowing the phones' LED flashes. Here is the whole scene, as presented by the Lumia 950:

In case you want to grab the original (zoomed) images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia 950 XL and Galaxy S9+, click the links to download. And to look at the images in more detail here, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:

Stunning details and colours from the triple LED flash on the 950 XL here - more light and great oversampling make for a super clean, beautifully detailed, noise-free photo. The S9+ does better than most phone cameras would, but it's trailing the 950 XL overall here.

Microsoft Lumia 950 XL: 10 pts; Samsung Galaxy S9+: 8 pts

Test 7: Tower time

I couldn't resist one final test, again showing image processing and zooming differences. Here is the whole (unzoomed) scene, a typical 'touristy' snap of an old church, as presented by the Lumia 950:

I then zoomed in to 2x on both phone cameras.

In case you want to grab the original (zoomed) images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia 950 XL and Galaxy S9+, click the links to download. And to look at the images in more detail here, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:

Under very tricky dynamic lighting, the 950 XL does rather well, producing good detail and colours even on the 'shady' side of the tower. However, you can see blockiness where digital zoom has been at work. While the S9 manages to use its telephoto 2x lens and, as a result, we have better actual detail, degraded only slightly by Samsung's sharpening and edge enhancement. But a significant improvement overall. The difference an extra camera lens makes!

Microsoft Lumia 950 XL: 7 pts; Samsung Galaxy S9+: 9 pts

Verdict

Adding up the points gives us:

Lumia 950 XL: 58/70

Galaxy S9+: 63/70

And so to the new era. As per my comments above, the 950/XL's range at the top of the imaging tree has been longer than you might have imagined, but (staying with the theme), if your imagination also includes shooting detail and getting optically 'closer' to subjects, shooting more cinematically, then the new breed of multi-exposure, multi-aperture, multi-lens camera phones are now taking things to new levels.